{"id":29293,"date":"2021-10-01T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2021-10-01T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.omio.com\/window-seat\/uncategorized\/say-boo-how-to-have-a-spooktacular-halloween"},"modified":"2022-06-17T08:17:29","modified_gmt":"2022-06-17T08:17:29","slug":"how-to-have-a-spooktacular-halloween","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.omio.com\/window-seat\/culture-lifestyle\/how-to-have-a-spooktacular-halloween\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Have a Spooktacular Halloween"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Halloween is just around the corner, which makes the cold heart of any horror fan beat faster. Dressed in spooky costumes, little ghosts go trick-or-treating from house to house, while mature vampires, monsters and ghouls choose to imbibe and dance the night away.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Halloween is an American holiday and like many American traditions, was brought to the New World via immigration, in this case, the Irish. Halloween (originally All Hallows’ Eve) is based on pagan and Celtic traditions from Ireland celebrating the night before All Saints’ Day, formerly known as Samhain. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In Celtic, Samhain marks the end of summer and the last harvest, but it is also the time when the gateway to the supernatural world and the dead opens. The deceased were believed to visit their relatives, who greeted them with lights and treats, while scary costumes were worn to protect against vengeful spirits who might have followed through the portal to the netherworld. Does that sound familiar?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While the harvest aspect became less important as the decades passed, Halloween in America has always been about ghouls, goblins and the witching hour. And let\u2019s face it: Who doesn\u2019t love being a different person for a night or gorging on sweets? So join us on this devilish tour through the spookiest places in Europe.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dublin, Ireland<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Emerald Isle is not only the birthplace of Halloween, it also offers a unique setting for a successful celebration: quaint castles, manor houses and mystical places.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ireland\u2019s capital, Dublin<\/a>, is the perfect starting point for your spooky sojourn. Dress up in your favorite costume and take the Ghost Bus Tour<\/a>. Get ready for two hours of goosebumps as you delve deep into the city\u2019s dark history and visit nefarious historical sites such as Dublin Castle, St. Audoen’s (also known as \u201cHell\u201d) and Kilmainham Gaol (that\u2019s pronounced jail, btw).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n
\"\"
The Hill of Ward was used by the Celts to celebrate Samhain. Today, mystical festivals take place here. Credit: Shutterstock<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\n
\"\"
Dublin Castle is one of the many places with a dark past you can discover on your Halloween trip through Dublin, Ireland. Credit: Shutterstock<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"\"
On a Ghost Bus tour, you’ll be accompanied by vampires, party with monsters and be spooked by ghosts. Credit: Shutterstock<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

According to legend, Samhain, the Irish precursor to Halloween, originated more than 2,000 years ago in County Meath in the Boyne Valley, which is only about 32 miles from Dublin. Then as now, the Hill of Ward was used for festivals and celebrations. Around Halloween, you can take part in two very special festivals: the P\u00faca Halloween Festival and the Samhain Festival. Expect a magic mix of folklore, food, myths and music.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Newsflash:<\/strong> Did you know that Bram Stoker, the author of \u201cDracula\u201d was Irish? You can still visit the house where he was born in Dublin, or stop by Castle Dracula (not the one in Romania) when it reopens.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Transylvania, Romania<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

No trip of horrors would be complete without a visit to Transylvania, the setting for Stoker\u2019s iconic \u201cDracula.\u201d Even though Stoker\u2019s literary figure is based on Vlad III Dr\u0103culea from Wallachia (aka Vlad the Impaler because he liked to place his enemies\u2019 heads on spikes), Bran Castle in Transylvania is considered Dracula\u2019s castle.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n
\"\"
Bran Castle (aka Dracula\u2019s castle) exudes a haunted air, especially in the evening hours around Halloween. Credit: Shutterstock<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Bran Castle is about 115 miles from Bucharest<\/a> and with more than half a million visitors a year, it\u2019s overflowing with people come fall. Around Halloween, you can stay overnight<\/a> in the iconic castle. Delve deep into its history on an exclusive night tour, enjoy a traditional Romanian meal and then party till the Count wakes up in his coffin out of envy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n
\"\"
In the Hoia Forest in Transylvania, where many a legend was born, goosebumps are guaranteed. Credit: Shutterstock<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Another spooky highlight is the Hoia Forest in Transylvania, considered the scariest forest in the world. According to legend, a shepherd disappeared there without a trace along with his flock of 200 sheep. Since the 1960s, there have also been repeated sightings of UFOs, whose alleged landing site is a circular clearing in the forest where nothing grows. Be sure to take a paper map with you when you head into the forest\u2014GPS and electronic devices won\u2019t work here.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Harz, Germany<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

If hardcore horror fills you with dread but you still like the supernatural and mystical, travel to the Harz Mountains, a mountain range and national park in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. The region is known for its many legends and places associated with witches. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Brocken, the highest mountain in the Harz, appears repeatedly in literature (think Goethe\u2019s \u201cFaust\u201d) and film under its byname \u201cBlocksberg,\u201d who was the heroine of the children\u2019s audio drama, \u201cBibi Blocksberg.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Instead of walking through the neighborhood in costume, you\u2019ll be walking along the Harz Witches\u2019 Trail in hiking boots. The enchanted hiking trail is about 62 miles long and leads from Osterode<\/a> over the Brocken to the Witches\u2019 Dancing Place in Thale, with its magical witch\u2019s cottage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n
\"\"
The Hexentanzplatz in Thale has served as a gathering place for witches for centuries, so why not dance around the bonfire? Credit: Shutterstock<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"\"
Crunch, crunch, crunch, who’s crunching on my little house? The witch’s house in Thale is reminiscent of the fairy tale of Hansel and Gretel by the Brothers Grimm. Credit: Shutterstock<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\n
\"\"
From idyllic to mystical, the Harz Witches Trail has everything you need to give you a case of the shivers. Credit: Shutterstock<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Over hill and dale, the trail passes through evergreen forests, rocky gorges and millennia-old high moors that evoke a mystical atmosphere. Picturesque half-timbered towns such as Quedlinburg and famous places such as the Witch’s Staircase\u2014a strange-looking stone formation on the Wurmberg\u2014provide variety and many spots to snap pics. Witches are omnipresent in the Harz region, and even if the big festivals tend to take place on Walpurgis Night (Witches\u2019 Night), you can also celebrate Halloween in the small towns\u2014if you still have enough energy after hiking.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n
\"\"
Quedlinburg, Germany, is a charming town with a castle and half-timbered houses. It\u2019s also a great place to celebrate Halloween in a rustic way. Credit: Shutterstock<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Halloween is just around the corner, which makes the cold heart of any horror fan beat faster. Dressed in spooky costumes, little ghosts go trick-or-treating from house to house, while mature vampires, monsters and ghouls choose to imbibe and dance the night away. Halloween is an American holiday and like many American traditions, was brought… Continue reading How to Have a Spooktacular Halloween<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":11,"featured_media":12660,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[706,709],"tags":[],"position_ids":[],"class_list":["post-29293","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-culture-lifestyle","category-events","entry"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nHow to Have a Spooktacular Halloween | Omio<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.omio.com\/window-seat\/culture-lifestyle\/how-to-have-a-spooktacular-halloween\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"How to Have a Spooktacular Halloween | Omio\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Halloween is just around the corner, which makes the cold heart of any horror fan beat faster. Dressed in spooky costumes, little ghosts go trick-or-treating from house to house, while mature vampires, monsters and ghouls choose to imbibe and dance the night away. Halloween is an American holiday and like many American traditions, was brought… Continue reading How to Have a Spooktacular Halloween\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.omio.com\/window-seat\/culture-lifestyle\/how-to-have-a-spooktacular-halloween\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"The Window Seat\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2021-10-01T00:00:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2022-06-17T08:17:29+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.omio.com\/window-seat\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/editorial_shutterstock_336224780-1-1-scaled.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"2560\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1709\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Lisa H\u00fcbener\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Lisa H\u00fcbener\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"7 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.omio.com\/window-seat\/culture-lifestyle\/how-to-have-a-spooktacular-halloween\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.omio.com\/window-seat\/culture-lifestyle\/how-to-have-a-spooktacular-halloween\/\",\"name\":\"How to Have a Spooktacular Halloween | Omio\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.omio.com\/window-seat\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.omio.com\/window-seat\/culture-lifestyle\/how-to-have-a-spooktacular-halloween\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.omio.com\/window-seat\/culture-lifestyle\/how-to-have-a-spooktacular-halloween\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.omio.com\/window-seat\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/editorial_shutterstock_336224780-1-1-scaled.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2021-10-01T00:00:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2022-06-17T08:17:29+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.omio.com\/window-seat\/#\/schema\/person\/6fcf5d2e44354ee26394fed016b0b3c0\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.omio.com\/window-seat\/culture-lifestyle\/how-to-have-a-spooktacular-halloween\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.omio.com\/window-seat\/culture-lifestyle\/how-to-have-a-spooktacular-halloween\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.omio.com\/window-seat\/culture-lifestyle\/how-to-have-a-spooktacular-halloween\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.omio.com\/window-seat\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/editorial_shutterstock_336224780-1-1-scaled.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.omio.com\/window-seat\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/editorial_shutterstock_336224780-1-1-scaled.jpg\",\"width\":2560,\"height\":1709,\"caption\":\"Slipping into a different skin one night a year and admiring other costumes are just some of the aspects that make Halloween so popular. Credit: Shutterstock\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.omio.com\/window-seat\/culture-lifestyle\/how-to-have-a-spooktacular-halloween\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"The Window Seat\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.omio.com\/window-seat\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Culture & Lifestyle\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.omio.com\/window-seat\/culture-lifestyle\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":3,\"name\":\"Events\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.omio.com\/window-seat\/culture-lifestyle\/events\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":4,\"name\":\"How to Have a Spooktacular Halloween\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.omio.com\/window-seat\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.omio.com\/window-seat\/\",\"name\":\"The Window Seat\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.omio.com\/window-seat\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.omio.com\/window-seat\/#\/schema\/person\/6fcf5d2e44354ee26394fed016b0b3c0\",\"name\":\"Lisa H\u00fcbener\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.omio.com\/window-seat\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/b9c9ae4f2fb5cf09f69b66e1aba5e63ed58182a95e3e355eed4f491b5cdc0f3b?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/b9c9ae4f2fb5cf09f69b66e1aba5e63ed58182a95e3e355eed4f491b5cdc0f3b?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Lisa H\u00fcbener\"}}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"How to Have a Spooktacular Halloween | Omio","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.omio.com\/window-seat\/culture-lifestyle\/how-to-have-a-spooktacular-halloween\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"How to Have a Spooktacular Halloween | Omio","og_description":"Halloween is just around the corner, which makes the cold heart of any horror fan beat faster. Dressed in spooky costumes, little ghosts go trick-or-treating from house to house, while mature vampires, monsters and ghouls choose to imbibe and dance the night away. Halloween is an American holiday and like many American traditions, was brought… Continue reading How to Have a Spooktacular Halloween","og_url":"https:\/\/www.omio.com\/window-seat\/culture-lifestyle\/how-to-have-a-spooktacular-halloween\/","og_site_name":"The Window Seat","article_published_time":"2021-10-01T00:00:00+00:00","article_modified_time":"2022-06-17T08:17:29+00:00","og_image":[{"width":2560,"height":1709,"url":"https:\/\/www.omio.com\/window-seat\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/editorial_shutterstock_336224780-1-1-scaled.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Lisa H\u00fcbener","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Lisa H\u00fcbener","Est. reading time":"7 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.omio.com\/window-seat\/culture-lifestyle\/how-to-have-a-spooktacular-halloween\/","url":"https:\/\/www.omio.com\/window-seat\/culture-lifestyle\/how-to-have-a-spooktacular-halloween\/","name":"How to Have a Spooktacular Halloween | Omio","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.omio.com\/window-seat\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.omio.com\/window-seat\/culture-lifestyle\/how-to-have-a-spooktacular-halloween\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.omio.com\/window-seat\/culture-lifestyle\/how-to-have-a-spooktacular-halloween\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.omio.com\/window-seat\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/editorial_shutterstock_336224780-1-1-scaled.jpg","datePublished":"2021-10-01T00:00:00+00:00","dateModified":"2022-06-17T08:17:29+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.omio.com\/window-seat\/#\/schema\/person\/6fcf5d2e44354ee26394fed016b0b3c0"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.omio.com\/window-seat\/culture-lifestyle\/how-to-have-a-spooktacular-halloween\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.omio.com\/window-seat\/culture-lifestyle\/how-to-have-a-spooktacular-halloween\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.omio.com\/window-seat\/culture-lifestyle\/how-to-have-a-spooktacular-halloween\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.omio.com\/window-seat\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/editorial_shutterstock_336224780-1-1-scaled.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.omio.com\/window-seat\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/editorial_shutterstock_336224780-1-1-scaled.jpg","width":2560,"height":1709,"caption":"Slipping into a different skin one night a year and admiring other costumes are just some of the aspects that make Halloween so popular. Credit: Shutterstock"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.omio.com\/window-seat\/culture-lifestyle\/how-to-have-a-spooktacular-halloween\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"The Window Seat","item":"https:\/\/www.omio.com\/window-seat\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Culture & Lifestyle","item":"https:\/\/www.omio.com\/window-seat\/culture-lifestyle\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"Events","item":"https:\/\/www.omio.com\/window-seat\/culture-lifestyle\/events\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":4,"name":"How to Have a Spooktacular Halloween"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.omio.com\/window-seat\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.omio.com\/window-seat\/","name":"The Window Seat","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.omio.com\/window-seat\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.omio.com\/window-seat\/#\/schema\/person\/6fcf5d2e44354ee26394fed016b0b3c0","name":"Lisa H\u00fcbener","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.omio.com\/window-seat\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/b9c9ae4f2fb5cf09f69b66e1aba5e63ed58182a95e3e355eed4f491b5cdc0f3b?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/b9c9ae4f2fb5cf09f69b66e1aba5e63ed58182a95e3e355eed4f491b5cdc0f3b?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Lisa H\u00fcbener"}}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.omio.com\/window-seat\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29293","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.omio.com\/window-seat\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.omio.com\/window-seat\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.omio.com\/window-seat\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/11"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.omio.com\/window-seat\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=29293"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/www.omio.com\/window-seat\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29293\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":39632,"href":"https:\/\/www.omio.com\/window-seat\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29293\/revisions\/39632"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.omio.com\/window-seat\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/12660"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.omio.com\/window-seat\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=29293"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.omio.com\/window-seat\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=29293"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.omio.com\/window-seat\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=29293"},{"taxonomy":"position_id","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.omio.com\/window-seat\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/position_ids?post=29293"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}